What is it about? John Coffey is a black man is in prison for the murder of two young girls. Head guard, Paul Edgecomb, recalls his time working on death row and how he met John and discovered he has an incredible secret.
What did I think? I loved this book, it was such a captivating story and really messes with your viewpoint of the men who have committed such serious crimes. King’s characters were all completely different people and the characterisations really stuck with you. You knew who you were meant to be rooting for and this wasn’t alway the guards over the prisoners. Interestingly, he portrays some of the inmates as men rather than the inhumane monsters you’d expect them to be, he makes you forget the awful things they’ve done to a point you almost feel sympathy to these men in their last moments. There were also those who were just the stereotype of what you’d expect from a murder and I really felt the comparison was a great aspect of the novel. There was also one guard, Percy, who was just an awful human being, this was an interesting choice as at times he was acting worse than some of the inmates. The fact that the story was being written by Paul when he was in an old people’s nursing home allows for the comparison, that there will always be the same types of people in the world no matter what point of life you are at. One of the aspects that stood out to me was that he would speak in great detail about seemingly random things which would later be important to the story. It made you question where things would go. As the book went on, it only got more exciting and the supernatural nature I enjoyed because everything else was just so normal. The fact that the story focused around death row and the inmates being executed through the electric chair also bring up the conversation of how ethical it was. At times Paul would question whether it made him a murderer the fact that he was behind the deaths of the men who walked the green mile.
Would I recommend? Yes, it was an amazing story. Even if you aren’t into supernatural stories you should still give this a go as the story surrounding it was really touching. It made me question things which I always love when a book does this.
What will I be reviewing next? Normal People by Salley Rooney.
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